Churches burn as violence spreads in India's Orissa

Hindu mobs have burnt at least four more churches in eastern India, officials said on Monday, as religious violence appeared to spread.

Thousands of people, mostly Christians, have taken shelter in makeshift camps in Orissa state, where Hindu mobs went on the rampage last week after a Hindu leader was killed.

Last week officials said the violence appeared to be abating after Hindu and Christian leaders called for calm, but over the weekend it spread to new parts of the state.

Mobs set fire to four churches in the districts of Koraput and Rayagada, Orissa's Director General of Police, Gopal Chandra Nanda, told Reuters.

Two churches and several houses were also burnt in the Kandhamal district, the epicentre of the tension, despite a curfew imposed in most of its towns, one of the state's leading newspapers, The Samaja, reported on Monday.


Source:Reuters

FIVE BLASTS ROCK BANGALORE IN PICS

IBNLive News | India News Homepage

IBNLive News | India News Homepage: "Six low-intensity blasts rocked Bangalore on Friday afternoon killing one woman and injuring about 50 people, initial reports said. The first blast took place at Raja Ram Mohun Roy circle at around 1320 hrs IST. The explosions shook Sirjapur Road, Nayandhalli, Madiwala checkpost, Adigudi, Rajaram and Mohan Rai Circle."

Opposition abstentions may help Govt scrape through

In the Lok Sabha, there are 10 men whose loyalties can be bought. They are ready to break away from their parties and swing the outcome in favour of the ruling alliance and they are all from the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

The men who may become part of Operation Rescue UPA on July 22, Tuesday, are:

• One MP from Shiv Sena
• Two MPs from JD(U) (Bihar)
• One from BJD (Orissa)
• And six MPs from BJP - two from Rajasthan, two from Karnataka and two from Gujarat

The Congress floor managers are targetting them, but the BJP is in denial mode.

The Congress knows that abstention is the surest way to win the trust vote. If 10 people don't vote or press the abstain button, the total of the house will come down to 530, bringing down the halfway mark to 265 - a figure the UPA insists it already has.

Right from the beginning there were doubts being expressed within the NDA on just how much to oppose the Indo-US Nuclear Deal. In the final analysis, it may be the abstentions within the oppositions' alliance which could turn out to be the saviour for the UPA Government.

Nuclear Deal Is it worth All the Fuss ????

I have been hearing about this nuclear deal from a long time now. The Govt is at stake. What is this Nuclear deal. As a Normal and common Indian i have no clue what the hell does it mean and how on earth would it benefit or harm the Nation.

I fail to understand that what is the compulsion of UPA to go ahead with the Deal risking their Govt. I don't know what these Politicians are up to , however i do understand that the present situation is breaking the backbone of common Indian and the burden of the deal would bruise the common man of India with price rise and Inflation.

I just hope these politicians stop playing dirty politics and think about the Nation ahead of their party leaders, party and themselves.

Government to seek trust vote on July 21-22

A day after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh met President Pratibha Patil and sought a trust vote in Parliament; the UPA allies on Friday decided (as per sources) to hold the special session of the Parliament on July 21-22 and prove majority on the floor of the House.

Aarushi murder: CBI to produce all three accused in court

All the three accused in the sensational murder of Noida girl Aarushi Talwar and Talwar's servant Hemraj would be produced in the court on Friday. The custody of all the three accused, Aarushi’s father Dr Rajesh Talwar, his compounder Krishna and Talwar’s family friend Durrani’s domestic help Raj Kumar.

The custody of Raj Kumar has not helped CBI to recover the crucial evidences in the case like the missing mobile phones of Aarushi and Talwar's domestic help Hemraj and also the missing weapon used in the murder.

PM to meet President today

Political developments in the capital are gaining momentum with President Pratibha Patil asking Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to meet her on Thursday even as Congress feel that the government would pass the trust vote in Lok Sabha later this month with a "reasonable" margin

The PM is expected to inform the President of his government's readiness to face Lok Sabha and consult her on a confidence vote, likely to be held on July 21 or 22.

The SP leaders' meeting with President Patil, minutes after Left leaders left Rashtrapati Bhavan, was timed in concert with Congress and was designed to dispel any perception about the government having been reduced to a min

Their calculations showed that the government could get the backing of 274 to 278 MPs in a House with an effective strength of 543. Congress has 154 MPs including an associate member, Mohan Delkar, and two nominated MPs. Nominated MPs can participate in a trust vote being only barred from a presidential Election

Kalka-Shimla Railway is now world heritage site

Describing the Kalka-Shimla railway line as “one of the most authentic mountain railways in the world,” UNESCO yesterday recognised it as a World Heritage Site.

The decision to add the historic Kalka-Shimla narrow gauge railway to the coveted list was taken at a meeting of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee held in Quebec City, Canada, yesterday. The Indian delegation at the meeting was led by secretary, Railway Board, ministry of railways, Mathew John.

With this decision, the Indian Railways has secured world heritage status for their fourth line. The other three in the list are the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway in West Bengal, the Nilgiri Mountain Railway near Ooty in Tamil Nadu and the Chhatarpati Shivaji Terminal (erstwhile Bombay Victoria Terminal) in Mumbai.

The Kalka-Shimla Railway (KSR) line was opened to traffic on November 9, 1903. During its six-hour journey on the 96 km narrow gauge route from Kalka to Shimla, the line runs through 103 tunnels, several arched bridges and picturesque stations like Dharampur, Barog and Solan.

Taking a journey on this line by any of these trains offers a unique opportunity to experience the majestic Himalayas and their conquest through engineering construction skills more than a 100 years ago.

Left gives withdrawal letter to President

The Left parties met President Pratibha Patil on Wednesday to formalise their withdrawal of support to the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government.

Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) General Secretary Prakash Karat along with his Communist Party India and Forward Bloc counterparts - AB Bardhan and Debabrata Biswas - went to the Rashtrapati Bhavan to meet the President and hand over their letters of withdrawal.

The letter also urged the President to hold a session of Parliament at the earliest on the Vote of Confidence.

The CPI-M list submitted to President has 44 names, which includes Speaker Somnath Chatterjee and Independent Sebastian Paul. Paul is an MP from Ernakulam in Kerala.

Soon after the Left announced that it was withdrawing its support to the UPA on Tuesday, the Congress convened an urgent meeting at the residence of party President Sonia Gandhi to chalk out its strategy.

The Congress seems confident that with the Samajwadi Party on its side, it has the requisite numbers to cling on to power. The focus is now on smaller parties and their support could prove crucial for the survival of the government.

VOTE FOR SIMRAN

PANTALOONS Femina Miss India Universe 2008, Simran Kaur Mundi, is doing great at the ongoing Miss Universe contest at Nha Trang, Vietnam. The beauty pageant is heading towards a grand finale — which is on July 14 — to be hosted by Jerry Springer and Spice Girl Mel B.
“I hope to keep up the momentum. I’ll give it my best,” avers Simran, who’s already been placed among the top five in three sub-competitions: the National Costume round, Ao Dai Show and the Swimwear Show.
And this time around, there’s a change in the format of the beauty pageant. The National Costume winner will be selected on the basis of an online poll.
So, here’s your chance to participate in this event. . Your vote can help Simran get the crown home, for the more sub-contests she wins, the brighter her chances of winning the Miss Universe 2008 crown.(Courtsey TOI)

VOTE NOW